


The Third Spirit

by latrunkster



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Better Kuvira, Better Red Lotus, F/F, New Bending Types, POV First Person, Pro-Bending, Romance, Spirit Escaped Wan, Spirit Living as Human, Spiritbending & Spiritbenders (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:22:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27021958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latrunkster/pseuds/latrunkster
Summary: Anatha Ri, she was a 'bending spirit', able to bend countless elements, who preferred to live in human form with the humans instead of her fellow spirits. When all the spirits disappeared and she found the portals closed, she became afraid that Raava would find her and 'banish' her to the spirit world.However, when the next harmonic convergence comes, she fears the greater evil and decides to find Raava and help her defeat Vaatu. Posing as a mystery airbender and meeting Korra, she joins Team Avatar, despite her fear of the discovery of her secret.Will go through Books 1-4 at least, with a burning, angsty romance between Anatha and Korra. Books 1 and 2 will happen faster as Anatha's influence speeds up events. Books 3 and 4 will be longer as the Red Lotus and Kuvira dilemmas will be explored with more/better moral ambiguity. All from Anatha's perspective.
Relationships: Korra (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s), Korra (Avatar)/Original Spirit Character(s)
Kudos: 25





	1. Welcome to Republic City

One day, I had learned that all the other spirits had gone. All but one, actually.

As a spirit myself, I should have noticed it earlier. But I had long removed myself from the wilds, instead clay-bending and water-healing for myself a human body, and preferring the company of the humans. One day the hunters of my current resident village reported that they had not encountered any spirits in a long time. They didn't know I was one, of course. But the news confused me, and going out on my own, I had discovered that yes, the spirits were gone. Nowhere. I explored the world far and wide, encountering many groups of humans, but only encountering spirits once every few centuries.

What had happened to them? Why had it not happened to me? Had they been mostly destroyed somehow, or were they hiding? Did have something to do with the harmonic convergence?

My answer came when I checked the portals; they were both closed. But how? Who or what did this?

Centuries later, I had by then learned something an answer: there was someone the people called the 'Avatar', someone with the, unique for humans at least, ability to bend all four elements. I encountered him once, and in him I sensed the presence of the one and only Raava. She would have had the power to have done it, during the harmonic convergence. But the spirit did not sense me, and I refrained from asking, as I was afraid that the powerful spirit would attempt to banish me along with the other spirits. I didn't believe the spirit would do that, but I couldn't be sure. Nor did I have any motivations to undo her work; the spirits had always been at least passive-aggressive to me, so the loss of them was no loss to me.

The powerful spirit had not sensed me; as strong as she and Vaatu were, they lacked wisdom and technique. They were paragons of raw potency, while I was more one of subtle skill. My strength was equal to that of the humans, but I was able to bend almost anything: earth, fire, air, water, metal, glass, fabric, sand, magma, blood, lightning, combustion, light and shadow, sound, energy, life, and even the mind. I did not advertise myself of these of course; I did not wish to out myself to the humans, lest Raava hear of me.

And so I lived, a constant explorer of the physical world, trapped in comparative paradise, throughout the millennia. I did many things: hidden things. Sometimes I did things of consequence, such as assisting beneficial political movements, but never so consequential as to make a name for myself. A soldier in a defensive war there, an artist in a cultural movement there. I changed my persona every few years, never making long-lasting connections. Oft times I spent my years on more menial yet prideful things: I had won a few pai sho tournaments in my day.

As millennia passed, I grew increasingly wary of the next harmonic convergence. What if Vaatu won this time? Nevermind the spirit world, the physical world would also be plunged to unfathomable darkness and evil. I supposed my fear of Raava dissipated over time, as I found myself wanting to help her defeat Vaatu. Perhaps assisting would endear myself to her, and she wouldn't banish me to the spirit world.

By the time ten thousand years had nearly passed, another thing had changed too: human technology. More had changed in the past one hundred years than all the previous ten thousand; _life had not changed so fundamentally since spirits had been banished to beyond the portals_.

And so more so than ever before, as that climax approached, I endeavored to watch over Raava more closely than before. When the one, Aang, had gone missing for a hundred years, I had scoured everywhere, and panicked, fearing Raava to be dead.

But the timing was all wrong once he was found: there was only about eighty years left before the convergence, and Aang would be in his old age by then, unable to battle Vaatu at full strength. And so it would have to be the next Avatar.

I watched over him invisibly, bending light around me. I had been prepared to end him myself if necessary, but in the end it was not needed. Then the next Avatar was found, the one I would have to endear myself too: her name was Korra.

Any my name is Anatha Ri.

* * *

When Korra moved to Republic City, I knew the time to approach her was ripe. I just had the find the most opportune moment and strategy.

When she volunteered to become a team member for the pro-bending team, the Fire Ferrets, I hatched an idea. I spent an entire night reading through rulebooks, tournament rosters, and past match records. I also observed the pro-bending facilities: the daily activities and employees.

I got a job there as a janitor. It prevented me from following her during the day, but it would present me chances to 'organically' encounter her.

And so it happened: I was cleaning the bathroom one afternoon, and she came in to do her business. When she came out of the stall, I spoke in a not-falsely trembling voice: "A-Avatar K-Korra?"

I knew that Korra wouldn't hesitate to help someone in need, as I would pretend to be.

But what I was truly afraid of was the Raava inside her. Would increased interaction like this allow the spirit to detect me more easily?

Korra looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes?"

I put it on the table. "My name's Anatha. I need your help. I'm an airbender." To prove myself, I summoned air to dry her just-washed hands.

She looked at me with wide, shocked eyes. "How...?"

"Not now. You're being watched. If you want to learn more, meet me here again at midnight. Come alone. Now go!"

Korra, with eyes still wide, left promptly. I didn't know for certain that she was being watched, just that it was possible.

After she was gone, I stole myself a moment to calm down, relieved that Raava had not detected me or otherwise had not reacted. I finished cleaning the bathroom, and then sought out my manager such that I could quit my job. Its purpose had been fulfilled.

* * *

"Tenzin, I need to talk to you," Korra said as he approached the Air Nomad. I was spying on her as per usual, invisibly flying through the air. I had to carefully navigate the air without creating any air currents that Tenzin could use to detect me.

Tenzin nodded in stoic acknowledgement, and beckoned Korra into a side room with him. I was not in there, but I bended their whispers into my ears."Yes, Korra. What is it?"

"I... I ran into someone today..." she stammered, obviously wary of many things. "...She was an airbender."

Tenzin's eyes scanned her hard and focused, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Someone not on the island? Are you sure? It wasn't a trick?"

"No, and yes. She bended right in front of me."

Both of Tenzin's hand were on her shoulders now. "Korra, this is important. Tell me everything that happened."

"I was at the arena, in the bathroom this afternoon," she started. She blushed at the awkwardness. "She was a janitor in there, cleaning. She approached me. She told me her name was Anatha, and she said she needed my help, and that she was an airbender. She used the air to dry my hands, then invited me to see her again there at midnight. Then she made me go, saying I was being watched. I left, and then I came here."

"Hmm. What did she look like? How did she carry herself?"

"She looked about my age, same skin and hair color as me too. Her eyes... they had many colors. She was wearing simple stuff. If she hadn't approached me, I would have assumed she was a non-bender. She seemed to be afraid too. Trembling even."

"Korra, I should go with you to see her again. Not every airbender would value our ways of peace."

"She asked me to come alone."

"Hmm..."

* * *

At midnight, I followed Korra as she made her way across the water and back to the arena. The bathroom we met in before had a window; I floated outside of it, waiting for her to enter the room.

When she did and saw that I wasn't in the room yet, she washed her face in the sink. When she was done, I made myself visible and tapped the glass of the window, getting her attention. She came over and opened the window.

In the same garb as earlier in the evening, I swung in through the window, landing myself gracefully.

"Hi. Thanks for coming," I told her. "I need your help, Iâ€”"

I stopped, as I heard someone approaching in the adjacent hallway. "You were followed!" I knew Korra couldn't hear the approaching steps, but nevertheless I made to exit back out the window.

"Hey, wait!" she called out as I crouched on the window sill. "I'll wait out there with you."

I was aware that Korra couldn't airbend or fly like me, but I nodded anyways, saying, "Okay, quickly, hold on to the sill." I swung down, holding onto the sill by my fingertips; Korra did the same, just as the bathroom's door burst open.

It was Tenzin. He looked mortified: probably more from Korra being gone than by being in a Lady's room. Korra sighed, "Ugh, I know him."

"Do you trust him?"

"With my life."

I didn't say anything more. I wasn't actually existentially afraid at all in that moment, nor was I afraid of Tenzin seeing me. It was just an act at this point. But one I still had to navigate carefully.

Korra leaped back into the room, which made a wave of relief visibly pass over Tenzin's visage. "Tenzin!" she called him out, "I told you not to come with me! You're scaring her!"

The nomad held up his hands in that sign of surrender and said, "I mean no harm to those who mean us none either."

Taking that as an appropriate cue, I joined them in the room too, using an obvious act of airbending to cushion my landing, so as to eliminate all doubt of my bending ability from Tenzin. "H-Hello?" I asked with what was this time fake trepidation.

"Hello, young one. I am Tenzin, councilor representing the Air Nomad nation. I am an airbender too." I very well knew who he was, having seen him born. He continued, "Korra told me you needed help?"

"Yes, I... I need to airbend. I have always been afraid of it. Of what others would do if they knew."

And so they invited me to their island, to live among the small conclave of airbenders there, which so far had only consisted of Tenzin's family and eventually Korra. I was quite the pitiable and interesting case, and so naturally they would help me.

* * *

"For tonight you and Korra will share her room. We will do more tomorrow; but for now, take good rest," Tenzin told us once we were back on the island.

Korra noded, and led me down the hallway and into her room. Entering it, I noticed that there was only one bed, and so I said, "Thank you for taking me in. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Hey, no, you can't do that. We'll sleep together," she responded. I didn't raise my eyebrow at the alternative interpretation of those words.

"Korra, I've slept in many places worse than this floor. But if it is okay with you, then sure. We'll share. Do you have bedclothes I could borrow? I brought nothing but the clothes on my back."

She gave me some, and we took turns behind the divider to change.

I got in the bed first, tucking myself into the far side, along the wall. "I'm sorry if I smell bad. I haven't bathed in... a long time."

Korra, unable to resist her curiosity, took a large breath through her nose, and hummed, "I think you smell nice. You smell like clay. It reminds me of I used to help my mother with the pottery when I was little."

I 'opened up' in kind: "I never knew my parents. I grew up on the streets of Republic City alone. The smell I grew up with was rotten eggs, from all the factories. And for the record, I think you smell like fish."

Korra giggled, despite the serious topic of my upbringing. "I did go into the water on my way to meet you." Then she frowned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. I'm sorry you had to grow up like that."

"Hey, no worries. I did crack a joke. But yes, it wasn't easy. But I made it. Many others didn't, and still don't. But I'm tired, and you probably are too, so let's sleep."

Korra hummed in reply, and soon she was breathing deeply and slowly. I didn't actually need to sleep myself; while my body was fully-functional, I could feed off the ambient energy in the air to sustain myself indefinitely. So I spent the night meditating and thinking on my plans.

* * *

Come morning, I had a meeting with Tenzin; Korra was there too, curious about me. I told him what I had told Korra last night, and how I had the ability to airbend since I was little. And no, I didn't know who my parents were.

"I don't think I'm powerful, in the literal definition of the word, but I did naturally learn a lot of techniques on my own, despite my lack of time to practice with them safely." I demonstrated what I knew to be basic skills: summoning gusts of wind, rolling around on an air ball. Tenzin had me go through that ancient spinning fan contraption. Korra watched, and it was apparent that she was partly impressed, and part frustrated. Probably that while she couldn't do it herself, as I had seen, some stranger like me could walk in and do it naturally first try, without any training.

"And you learned all of this on your own, Anatha?" Tenzin asked for confirmation.

"Yes. Oh, I can do this too," I said casually, despite preparing to do something I knew would shock them.

I floated. No gust of air holding me up, no; I simply bended my own clay body up into the air. I knew that this was a rare, legendary airbending skill, even if the technique was different for me. I was able to do the airbending version of the technique too; it was just that the straightforward claybending way was more natural to me. I flew around excitedly, laughing in circles around them, as they watched me with wide eyes.

"Woah, dat is so cool!" cried a certain Meelo as he and his sisters came out of hiding. "Daddy, when do we learn to fly like da rainbow-eye girl?"

I came back down to the ground, and said to Tenzin's shocked expression, "I guess you can't do that then?"

Tenzin's expression neutralized, returning to its usual stoicism. "No. Such an ability was legendary and rare, even before the hundred-year war."

Korra spoke up then, facing Tenzin, "Does this mean that your father wasn't the last airbender?"

Tenzin put his hand to his chin, stroking his beard. "Possibly. Or perhaps Anatha had distant airbender ancestors, and latent abilities which had been dormant have only manifested in her."

To all of this, I noticed Korra beaming at me. I knew she had become frustrated with Tenzin as her teacher, and I hoped that she would consider me as an alternative, and eventually, her friend.


	2. A New Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amon is on the move; meanwhile, Anatha attempts to teach Korra to airbend.

"You don't happen to know where I could get thirty-thousand yuan, do you?" Korra grumbled later that evening after dinner. She had gone to her pro-bender training session and came back in a bad mood; and now we were here outside, sitting on a bench overlooking Republic City.

"What do you need that much for?" I asked her.

"It's for the tournament pot. If we don't get it, our season is over. My teammates Mako and Bolin would have to find new jobs."

I had thirty-thousand yuan. But it would seem awfully convenient and uncanny to give it to her; I would if no other source could be found. It would make them wonder why I was a janitor while having that much money, and that was a line of questioning I didn't want to get into. So all I did was shrug.

Korra sighed. "I'm sorry. It must be such a trivial thing to you, compared to your life before."

"I made do. When do you need the money by?"

"End of the week."

I paused, thinking about how to continue. I said, "I can get it for you, if nothing else comes up."

She raised an eyebrow: "And how would you get that much?"

"You don't want to know."

This made her expression turned doubtful: that she wouldn't want the money like that. "Tomorrow I'll see if Mako or Bolin have come up with anything." Her expression changed again, this time to one of concern, and asked, "How was your first full day on the island, Anatha?"

I grimaced. "Tenzin had me try to teach him the flying technique. We did not succeed." I actually did try, from the airbending point of view. "I hate to disappoint so soon."

"Oh none of that!" she replied with a passioned gaze. "Tenzin had his father, the Avatar, to teach him, while you taught yourself, all on your own. You're amazing."

I had to be blushing at that. "Thanks. How is your airbending? Do you want me to try to teach you to fly?"

At that Korra's expression returned to melancholy; she always did wear her emotions on her sleeve. "I can't airbend at all!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought..."

Korra was exasperated. "No, no you're fine. I've just never been able to do it, and Tenzin hasn't been able to teach me."

"Would you like me to try to teach you?"

"You would do that?"

"Sure, I don't have much else to do."

"Okay. I want to sort out our money problem first, but after that, we'll get right to it!"

* * *

Later into that same night, I spied Mako arriving and talking to Korra, asking about Bolin. He was missing. And then they ran off to find him.

I sighed, and made to invisibly watch over them as they made there way through the city. When they ended up finding Bolin being kidnapped by a band of chi-blockers, I could have rescued him myself. Hijack the truck, stop it, defeat all the goons, and rescue everyone; but I didn't. It was safer for me to abstain.

Perhaps I was a bit selfish in that; but so it was. I still had to leave room for the Avatar to learn and grow on her own; I couldn't hold her hand all the time.

I watched over them as they slept in the park, following Korra's lead. I did consider it quite reckless for them to sleep out in the open like that, considering their new Equalist enemy.

Eventually they learned about the 'Revelation' and attended it; the Equalist leader, Amon, who I sensed to be a waterbender, apparently knew how to bloodbend people so as to permanently block their flow of chi. Korra and Mako successfully saved their Bolin, and they returned home.

I returned home late after them, feigning exhaustion; they were all waiting for me too, as I had gone missing too since following them. I told them I had been in the city trying to find the three of them. This prompted Korra to give me a funny look; I hoped she was realizing that I did not want to just be a hermit meditating at the temple all day. It would be odd for me to flip around from being afraid to airbend in public to going out and doing 'Avatar' stuff, but I didn't need to do that to help them. I could still pretend to be a non-bender and help them, and I wanted them to see that. I think they did.

* * *

The following morning, Mako and Bolin left to return to the arena, while Korra stayed to talk to me. She told me of last nights events, as she didn't know I already knew them.

"It could be bloodbending," I said when she finished her story.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well," I looked up pensively, pausing for believability. "You said the chi blockers blocked the flow of of your chi, in your body right? Well what if bloodbending could do the same thing, but permanently?"

"Hmm... so you think Amon could be a waterbender?"

"It's just a guess. Did you ever see him bend?"

"No, but he wouldn't would he. He is a skilled chi blocker in any case." Her frown neutralized, and she went on, "I'll ask Tenzin later. Enough about that, let's do some airbending!"

My own frown changed too: "Okay, let's find a good place on the island to start. A new place. Follow me."

We left the dock where we had said goodbye to her friends, and I led her higher up toward the center of the island, until we were standing outside the building housing the island's tower.

I said, "We need to go up on the roof, waaaaay up there. It's the air-iest part of this whole island. Do you want to take the stairs, or the elevator?"

"There's an elevator?"

"No," I smirked, "But I'm here."

Korra looked at me, taking a second to understand, then giggled. "Well... I guess flying would help me feel the air, right?"

"Okay, hop on my back like we're doing a fish-piggy-back ride and I'll fly us up there." I crouched down ready for her, and she jumped onto me. I tried not to think about how my hands were on her hips or how her chest was pressed up against the back of my neck. Then I said, "I hope you're not afraid of heights," as I launched us into the air.

"Whooo-oooah!" Korra cried out, probably half due to startlement and half due to amazement. It made me smile. After watching her for her entire life, it was nice to be able to make her happy myself.

When I perched us on top of the sloped, conical roof of the tower, and we had to hold on to the pointy top in order to not fall down, Korra commented, "Are you sure about this? How are we supposed to meditate here?"

"No meditation today, just feeling," I answered. Once she had climbed off of me and was hanging from the point on her own, I started my lesson. "So, today we will try two things I guess you haven't tried yet. The first thing is being up here, of course. Air, wind, it's all three-dimensional, and that can't always be felt when sitting on the ground. Short of flying like me, this is the best place to just feel that. The second thing,"

I paused, concentrating on my task. I stilled the air around us, but only in the subtle way: I stopped all vibrations and sounds from entering a bubble around us.

"...is that without doing what I just did, air temple island I think just isn't the best place to learn airbending. Even out here on the water, sound from the city permeates the air; noise pollution makes the sense of air and current fuzzy. Imagine trying to teach a first-time waterbender on dirty water, or an earthbender on porous metal. It's dirty, impure, and more difficult. So what I've just done is shield all the sounds from around us. Sound is vibrations in the air, and so I can control them. I forgot to mention that skill earlier."

Korra looked at me like I was becoming more and more amazing.

"So now, you should be able to just _feel_ pure, unbridled air. Now, do you think you can climb up even higher, wrapping your legs around the point there?"

She hoisted herself up onto the point by her arms, muscles bulging in the effort. She was basically hugging the point of the tower now, as if it were her lover.

"Good, now I'm going to start bending some air. Don't _do_ anything; just _feel_ it. If you want to, while I'm doing it, you can hold up your arms loosely, to feel how you arms can flow with the air. It should feel somewhat like waterbending, I would imagine: air and water are both fluids, after all."

She followed my instructions, straddling the point with her arms in the air. Then I started creating a cyclone of wind around us, circling us slowly and calmly. I changed its direction as time passed; Korra's arms were waving like flags in a gentle breeze. After a few minutes of this, I stopped.

"Very good. Now we're going to do it again. But this time, there is something you will do. You don't have to _push_ or _airbend_ at all. All you have to do is _predict_ the air movement. That is, instead of the air pushing your arms around, I want you to move your arms to be with the wind exactly. You'll know you're doing it correctly if you don't feel the wind at all."

"Wait, am I supposed to be feeling it, or not feeling it? You're mixing it up."

"This time, you're trying not to feel it, on your arms at least. But you should still _feel_ it with your mind, so that you're able to predict it and prevent your arms from feeling it. Just try to predict the wind and follow it more closely. _I_ will know whether or not you're doing it right based on whether or not I can feel you blocking my wind." I started brewing up the wind again. Korra started roughly at first with her arms still flapping around in the force of the wind, but eventually she picked is up, such that were it not for all my other senses, I wouldn't feel her arms at all. They were a part of the air. I soundbended my praise into her ear: "You're doing it!" Then I ended the wind in short order.

"Wooh! That felt just like a few days ago in my probending match. I could feel attacks coming before they happened."

"Very good—I think you're halfway there." The progress report made her smile in glee and excitement. "The next step is the actual airbending: you must feel the same prediction, however as the air isn't moving beforehand, you won't have your sense of air to guide you to where the prediction should go. Yes I know that sounds confusing, um... what I mean is you have to predict, yes, and that the act of prediction and your force of will will enact your prediction. Now, to make this more concrete for you, what I want you to do next is jump off the tower."

"What?!"

"Don't hesitate! And don't worry, I'll catch you!" I smirked. "Do you trust me?"

Korra looked at me intensely, as if actually contemplating the question. Then she jumped off.

I quickly followed and surpassed her, giving her plenty of time to see me below her. I was prepared to catch her at any time, even if I had to bloodbend her to safety or create a slide of rocks for her; though in such cases I would have also to do something else to disorient her and prevent her from detecting it. As she fell through the air I kept up my soundbounding around her, so that she would still only feel the air in its purest form.

But then I hit my head on something, and I fell flat to the ground myself, going limp.

Korra was nearly at the ground herself, accelerating rapidly. "Anatha!" I heard her cry out, and then I _felt_ her airbend to cushion her fall as she rushed up to me. She turned me over onto my back, checking for my pulse.

And then I smiled and started giggling. "You airbended!"

"What?!"

"I faked it. I was prepared to catch you that whole time. But when you thought I was in danger you naturally airbended to cushion your fall and save me."

Her face was a storm of mixed emotions. "I—I don't know whether to by angry at you, or grateful."

I grinned. "I'm sure you'll come around."

"Oh... Anatha, I can airbend!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, bending and torrent of air above her, "I CAN AIRBEND!"

I rolled my eyes and kept smiling. "That was fast."

"I have to go find Tenzin, or anybody, and tell them! Thank you so much Anatha! I CAN AIRBEND!" She ran off like a child with a new toy.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know if this is the canonical grammer or not, but I'm preferring to use 'bended' over 'bent', because it just feels like an in-universe thing to do.
> 
> I'd be curious for comments regarding how OOC my character portrayals are or aren't.


	3. Amon's Gambit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Equalist movement puts pressure on Team Avatar and the entire city; Amon makes a bold move, but Anatha might have a surprise in store for him.

That evening, dinner was exciting, with everyone's talking about Korra's progress with airbending. She excitedly told everyone the story of how I trained her and tricked her. In hearing of it, Tenzin looked at me with exasperation and gratitude. I'm sure it made him feel inadequate, while at the same time he wanted to thank me. I hadn't slighted him directly though, so I hoped I was still improving his judgment of me.

Then some old waterbender interrupted our dinner; he introduced himself as councilor Tarrlok. Tenzin and I saw right through his flattery of Korra, though I remained passive and silent.

Korra eventually rejected his offer to join his anti-Equalist task force. Flustered, he left, but before walking out, he noticed me. "And who might this be, Tenzin? A new member of your family?"

I looked to Tenzin, silently asking him to speak for me. He did: "Anatha came to us seeking shelter, and we provide for her. We are happy to have her here." I was happy that he didn't reveal that I was an airbender.

"How... generous of you." And then he finally left.

* * *

Over the next two days, Korra and I split our time between training more on the island and me watching she and her pro-bending teammates practice in the gym. I had formally met Mako and Bolin, though they didn't know that I was an airbender.

At the end of the week, the team still didn't have the 30,000 yuan yet, though I was prepared to go and get it that night. But for the evening, Korra and Tenzin's family were invited to an Avatar-themed gala being thrown together by councilor Tarrlok. Tenzin's kids begged for me to come to, and Korra asked too, which made Tenzin acquiesce and decide that I could come as an honorary family member. Which really did make me feel at home. The smile I had when Tenzin said it wasn't an act.

I had my own room now, and Tenzin had given me plain airbender garb. But I didn't really want to go to the gala in one of them, for several reasons.

I left my room and knocked on Korra's door, adjacent to mine. "Korra, it's me, Anatha."

She opened her door slightly and leaned into view, just showing her head. She was obviously in some state of undress. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a dress I could borrow? I have the clothes Tenzin gave me, but I don't want to advertise my airbender status. I think we're the same size."

"All I have are Southern Water Tribe style."

"Oh, that'd be fine... unless it would be rude for me to wear it? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No no you're okay. Just give me a minute, and then I'll have something for you."

If I remembered correctly, water tribe clothes were always made by the wearer's family. They were home-made; never mass-produced or sold as retail. So her giving some to me was actually a personal thing I was quite gracious for. Though I couldn't be so explicit in my thanks as to reveal I know more about water-bender culture than I should.

"Here. Gown, boots, hairpiece, bracers, and necklace will get you started. Let me finish, and then I'll come by and make sure you have them on right."

I smiled graciously. "Thank you!"

* * *

We flew in on Oogi, and when we got there I split off from Tenzin and Korra, telling them I'd be more comfortable on the outskirts, but to let me know if they needed anything.

I was watching them, soundbending their conversations toward me; councilor Tarrlok showed up and introduced her to a Hiroshi Sato; apparently Mako and Bolin were there too.

Then there was a hard woman in my face, speaking harshly to me: "Just because the city's throwing you this—Oh." I recognized her, Police Chief Beifong.

"I am not the Avatar," I replied bluntly. The mistake was understandable; in my water tribe dress, I looked quite like her.

"Who are you?! I know everyone on the guest list." She raked her eyes up and down me in measurement.

"My name's Anatha. I came in on Tenzin's family ticket."

Her eyes showed suspicion and lack of belief. "Who are you to him?"

I threw her earlier sentiment back at her. "Just because the city's thrown you in as Chief of Police, doesn't—"

The chief grabbed me by my throat and held me up against the pillar I had been leaning on. Her hand was strong and it choked me. I grabbed back at her hands, trying to pull them off me. I wasn't actually concerned for my life at all, but I was annoyed and uncomfortable.

The chief continued staring at me with her hard eyes, as if they on their own were interrogation sufficient enough to reveal my secrets.

"Chief Beifong!" said Councilor Tarrlok, as he and the Avatar's party approached. "What is going on?"

"I caught this one sneaking into the party!" she answered.

"That's Anatha, my friend!" Korra argued back. "Tenzin's welcomed her into his family!"

"Chief," Tarrlok said with a tone I appreciated, "Release her."

She dropped me down onto the ground, and I collapsed into a crouch. Despite feeling safe that whole time, the stress of it still induced tears to well into my eyes. I had to calm down—it wouldn't do for me to become angry or imbalanced, because I knew what could happen to spirits when that happened. Even if I didn't consider myself a spirit. _Oh, who am I kidding?_

The chief walked away, saying nothing, while Korra crouched down next to me in concern. "Anatha, are you okay?"

I nodded and stood up shakily, Korra helping me up. "I think I'm going to wait outside," I said with a hoarse voice.

"You sure? Want me to come with you?"

"No, that's okay. I'll be fine." I made to leave, leaving a despondent Korra behind me. The others, save for the old men, had similar expressions.

Once outside, I made to leave the designated party area, and once I found a safe spot to do so I turned invisible. I took a minute to calm down, thinking about how they all still liked me, and nothing had really changed. I went back to the party, flying in through an open window, and continued to observe the day's events. I saw Korra decide to join Tarrlok's task force once pressured by reporters.

When the party was over, Korra and Tenzin's family were concerned that they couldn't find me outside, but Tenzin assured them that I was probably back at the island. As they rode Oogi back to the island, I went on ahead to quickly get into Korra's room and take off the borrowed clothes and fold them, before heading back into my own room and putting on my old, dirty non-bender clothes. I did this all while invisible; and then I flew out my room's window again. I flew up to the top of the tower, hugging the point of it like a lifeline. I soundbended my way into hearing the whole island.

Korra was relieved when she found that I had put the borrow clothes on her bed, and then she went to my room looking for me. When she didn't find me she came outside, scanning the sky and the ground. When she didn't see me anywhere, as I was invisible, she made to go talk to Tenzin.

"I can't find Anatha. She did come here and put back the dress she borrowed from me, but there's no sign of her anywhere else."

"Hmm," Tenzin replied. "She probably needs time alone. She'll probably be back by morning. If not, we'll look for her tomorrow."

* * *

Hours later, Korra was in bed trying to sleep, but unable to. The crying, whimpering, and sobbing I heard broke my heart. Long past midnight now, I couldn't stand it anymore, and flew in through my window and made myself visible again. I changed into nightclothes, exited my room, and knocked on Korra's door.

Korra, wide awake and probably wanting for distraction, took a moment to wipe her eyes on her sheets before coming to answer the door.

"Anatha?" she whispered desperately, as if asking any louder would scare my ghost away. I nodded, and she came forward and hugged me tightly. "I though I had lost you."

"I'm right here, I'm sorry. Can I sleep with you again, like before?"

"Yeah, of course... I think I need it too." She tugged me into the room gently, leading me to her bed. I got in first, like before, and she got in after me, clinging to me with her arms around my waist.

"I'm sorry I just left like that, I just... realized some things."

She said nothing, but she squeezed my waist.

"I feel safest when I'm with you... but at the same time, I feel most vulnerable." That was entirely true. Raava had the potential to save me or destroy me. "Being with you makes me a target, and I realized because I can't always be with you, I... I don't know what to do."

Korra waited before answering. With her this close to me, I could nearly feel her thoughts forming in her mind. "If I... if my life was in danger, would you do all you could to rescue me?"

"Yes." I answered it unhesitantly.

"...And if your life was in danger, I would do the same for you. So we'll just have to protect each other. Next time we go to a party like that, let's stick together."

"...Okay"

* * *

The next morning at breakfast I learned from Korra that the Fire Ferrets had gotten their 30,000 yuan for the tournament, that Sato industries was sponsoring them. After breakfast, Tenzin approached me to reassure me that if anything was wrong or making me uncomfortable, he was there for me. I knew he couldn't help with my secret issues, but I appreciated the sentiment.

After that I retreated to my room, turned invisible, and left to spy on Korra and her day.

Having joined Tarrlok's task force; for one day after another they raided training centers, supply warehouses, recruitment centers, or just followed up on leads.

Each night Korra and I would sleep together, feeling at home and safe in each other's arms. She confided in me that she was afraid of Amon, but at the same time that she had a duty to not back down.

It all came to a climax when she challenged Amon to face her. She insisted I not to do something like fly in the distance and listen in with my soundbending, not wanting to risk me. But I went anyway, albeit invisibly, promising myself to step in only if things really got out of hand.

When Amon had her in his finger tips, I stood ready to block his bloodbending if necessary. But Amon turned out to be a shrewd man, deciding not to martyr her. Not that he would have succeeded if he tried.

That night, Korra cried a lot in bed, as I held her and cooed comforting sounds into her ear.

* * *

Over the following days Korra shifted her focus to practicing in the gym to prepare for the pro-bending tournament. I followed her every day, either explicitly or under my invisibility-inducing light bending.

One morning Tenzin approached me again and explicitly brought up the fact that when I wasn't out with Korra, he still couldn't find me on the island. He didn't push the issue, he only wanted clarification, at which I told him that I wasn't actually interested in becoming an air nomad and that culture. But I did confirm that I would always be there for the air nation if it ever needed help. He then too admitted his feelings of inadequacy, and said that I was good for Korra, and that I was still welcome to stay.

One night, Korra brought up a line of questioning I had expected from spying on her: "Why are boys so hard to understand?"

Here we go. I asked with expressed confusion, "Boys?"

"We were terrible in the semi-final last night because Mako and I got into a fight."

"Was that what had been causing the awkwardness in the benchroom?"

"...Yes."

I asked, "You mean that you're dating him?"

"No. But I think I want too." She sighed. "Have you gone on dates before?"

"Uhh... no." I stirred in bed, flipping on my other side and facing away from Korra. She snuggled closer to me, wrapping an arm around me. It didn't really occur to her how romantically intimate that could be. "I've never been interested in dating anyone." That was true, mostly. "I was always too afraid that what few chances for airbending I had would disappear if I got with someone like that. I wish I could give you advice, but I can't." I sighed. "In any case I'll always be there if you need me."

* * *

The following morning at the pro-bending gym, I, Korra, and her team overheard Amon's threat to the finals match on the radio, and I followed them to city hall to convince the council to let the match go on. I wasn't ethically certain whether or not it _should_ go on, but I would support Korra's view.

At the meeting, I didn't speak, nor was I spoken to, though some did raise their eyebrows at me.

"Can I still come with you?" I asked her. "I want to be there in case anything happens."

Korra agreed.

For the fight night, I wore plain non-bender garb. I suspected something was going to go down, so I didn't want to wear anything recognizable as belonging to a certain group. It was still pretty though; I still wanted to look beautiful for the night, I supposed. My shirt looked like the top of a dress, with a sweetheart pseudo-neckline going onto into sheer, skintight shoulder covers and sleeves. It was colored white, sparkling. On my bottom I wore white woman's breeches closing down onto white stockings and then white shoes. It was like shining armor. I had gotten it all done for me special.

"Wow, you don't look like you," Korra said as I entered the benchroom which opened out into the arena.

Mako and Bolin turned to me too; Bolin had hearts for eyes, which made me smile, while Mako rolled his eyes, probably dismissing my get-up as a fangirl moment. He still didn't know I was an airbender after all. I said, "Thank you. I'm here for you all tonight—are you ready?"

"Pabu and I have rehearsed," Bolin answered as I saw the ferret leaping through a throwing disc. I smiled at his spirit.

Korra just smiled, and Mako gathered them into a huddle. He gave some rousing encouragement born of all his probending experience, and they ended it with a cheer: "Fire Ferrets!"

They were ushered onto the bending ring; Pabu and Bolin repeated their performance only to receive a saddeningly weak response from the crowd.

The something-wolf-bats then made their own entry, and then the match was underway.

The slug-out started equally, with both sides throwing and receiving punches, but things got out of hand when the wolf-bats blatantly started cheating. Hosing, disc-zoning, and icing violations were abound. It was clear that the referee was bribed or otherwise biased. My heart skipped a beat when Bolin was thrown to the drink, and again when Mako and Korra nearly did, hanging on by the tips of Korra's fingers. The match wasn't over, but at this rate the cheating opponent and referee would probably beat them into submission.

Wanting to support my friends, and seek satisfaction from disrupting someone else's plans, I performed a complex set of bending techniques in order to fix the referee problem. I had to be contact with someone to bend their mind; but I could not be seen turning invisible or floating over to him. At the exact same time: I used light bending to both turn myself invisible and create a phantom version of my presence leaning against the benchroom railing. It would look real from everywhere except close-up, where I lacked the fidelity for the finest details. Then I invisibly floated over to the referee, made contact with him and touched his mind.

He had been bribed, yes, but by whom not even he knew. But I fixed it; I made him forget about his bribe, and added thoughts at least temporarily strengthening his resolve toward fairness. Then I retreated back to the benchroom; the whole process had only taken but five seconds. Bolin hadn't even made it up the elevator yet.

"Bolin, the owners have probably talked to the ref about the cheating. You can still do this now; it'll be an even playing field." He shot back his trademark smile, and Pabu, here in the benchroom with me, gave out a squeaky roar.

When the next round started, it wasn't long before the wolf-bats synchronously started icing and throwing headshots again, and to the surprise of everyone on the field, the referee called them put on it and ordered those two to go back one zone. This gave the Fire Ferrets renewed confidence. The Wolfbats still put up a fight, but the Ferrets managed to push them back and win the round.

On the third and final round, both teams gave it their all; the cheating was gone. A combination from Mako and Korra pushed two of their foes back a zone, but a counter from their earthbender forced Mako himself all the way to zone three. A quick follow-up threw him into the drink. Korra and Bolin, now outnumbered, would have to put in their all in order to win. Both teams were attacking more the defending, putting all their strength of heart and will into the battle. The attacks against Mako had left the enemy fire and water benders open to the side, of which Bolin and Korra were soon to take advantage. His team outnumbering the ferrets, the enemy earthbender switched focus to defending for his teammates, letting them throw volley after volley onto Bolin and Korra. But the earthbender forgot his own defense, and after dodging the volleys of attacks Bolin and Korra counterattacked together, forcing the earthbender off the platform and into the drink. A quick follow-up one-two punch from them force their remaining foes back into the drink as well, and with that, the Fire Ferrets had won!

The crowd went wild, and so did I. I was proud of them, and happy that I had been able to contribute by debiasing the ref.

But then it all went wrong.

As the announcer was appallating them as the victors, electric shocks started crackling out in the stands: I saw masked men shocking the metalbender cops. Tenzin and Lin were shocked too. The central elevator of the arena descended; I had a suspicion of what would be on it when it came back up.

I used clothbending to form a sheer hood over my head and face, concealing my identity from a distance. Then I used the bridge controls to extend the bridge across the gap, letting me run to join Korra and Bolin in the ring, just as the elevator came back up.

Amon. Him and six chi-blocker goons.

"Anatha! Get back!" Korra whispered harshly to me.

"We promised to protect each other, Korra," I whispered back.

Amon and his gang approached us. "Avatar," Amon spoke out from behind his mask, "I would congratulate you on your victory, but I think the fight is just beginning."

It was my turn. I said, "Tournament's over, bloodbender. But maybe they can fit you in next season."

Bolin looked at me as if I had a second head. Amon, while keeping his head still, turned his eyes toward me, narrowing.

Korra, Bolin, and I stood against them. "Korra, Bolin, you deal with the chi-blockers. Amon's mine." It had been a few hundred years since I last had to fight, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying this opportunity.

"You sure?" Korra whispered. I answered by nodding subtly.

In this situation I wasn't confident I could pull off the same mindbending trick as before, at least while doing complex lightbending at the same time. My goal was to get close enough to energybend him and take away his own bending; he would be nothing then. The punishment would suit his crimes.

I began the fight by flying and hovering into the air, knowing the intimidating trick could throw them off-balance. I rushed Amon, and while I felt him trying to bloodbend me, I brushed it off with unseen counter-bloodbending of my own. Soon I was upon him, but his agile dodging and now-frantic chi-blocking strikes made it difficult to get a grab on him. Fortunately I was immune to the chi-blocking, as it was not my body doing the bending as much as it was my own spirit.

Korra and Bolin were holding their own, but being outnumbered, they had still been pushed back. I would need to defeat Amon quickly so I could go back and help them with the chi-blockers.

I flew higher into the air, knowing I would have an advantage there. Then I stunned Amon with a quick formation of a temporary vacuum around his head, wounding his eyes and ears while also possibly damaging his lungs. I followed up with a torrent of wind that pulled him into the air: I formed it as a trap, suspending him in it. It was then that I flew to grab him; I grabbed him by his head, at which point I removed his bending. I swung him around me like a ragdoll, and threw him into a group of his goons back on the ring; he and three of them plummeted off into the water below.

Relieved by the halving of the enemies they were facing, I trusted Korra and Bolin to handle the remaining chi-blockers up top, as I flew down to re-retrieve Amon from the water.

I found him face-down in the water, probably unconscious; I pulled him and the three remaining goons into a torrent of air just like before. And so the group of them became trapped in another bubble of wind.

Flying them back up to the ring, I found that the only goon remaining was someone else: Amon's right-hand, the crazy guy with the electrified sticks. Korra was fighting him. My own enemies were defeated, but I could not entrap them and fight someone else at the same time. Keeping my ball of air required all my focus. So I had to trust it to Korra.

Seeing my entrapment strategy, I felt Korra start wipping up a wind bubble of her own. It wasn't strong enough, as Korra's winds were a bit too chaotic, but the blast of it stunned the Equalist enough for Bolin to bend one of the discs into a prisoning brace around him. At that, all of the enemies in the ring were defeated.

At this point, the stages were empty, all members of the crowd having either run for their lives or having retreated to fight another day. The guards, including Lin and Tenzin, started waking up.

Bolin looked at me with wide eyes; a reasonable reaction for a first time seeing someone fly. Then I noticed that my hood was off, the winds of the battle having revealed me. Korra looked at me with what looked like, well, idol worship.

Turning to the stands, Tenzin was looking at me with further amazement, and Lin had her own pair of wide eyes. All of the police there saw me too.

Finally, Mako, having recovered from his swim in the match, made his way across the bridge to join us from the benchroom. He asked, "Was there cactus juice in the drink, or is Korra's fangirl floating?"

And that was how Republic City learned they had a new resident airbender.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a longer chapter—I just couldn't stop writing the probending scenes!
> 
> I have anxiety and lots of stress, so please comment to tell me that this project is worth the stress.


	4. Machinations and Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tarrlok is up to something, and Korra starts acting weird around Anatha.

After it was all over at the pro-bending arena, with Amon and all those captured on their way to prison, the police took me down to the station to answer questions about what happened while they were unconscious. Lin herself interrogated me, starting off with business questions of what exact things Amon said. Then we moved onto my recent history at airbender island, going into more personal questions. She also gave me a short quip of praise for having defeated Amon. I guessed that was her way of apologizing for her condescending attitude from when she first met me.

Somehow we got into talking about how I didn't want to be a traditional air nomad. Then she did something I didn't expect: she offered me a job.

I declined, because I didn't want to do anything that could separate me from Korra. I was displeased as it was being separated from her now, even though I knew she was in the station with me. Though I didn't tell Lin that; rather I told her I didn't want to be anchored down like that. Though I did confirm that if she needed help for anything extra perilous, she need only ask.

"Anatha!" Korra called out to me after we both exited our interrogation rooms, and she gave me a big hug.

"We did it, Korra, we did it." I hugged her back. "And you're a pro-bending champion now, that's the important part."

We left then. Tenzin was there and he offered to give us a ride on Oogi back to the island, but Korra to my surprise declined. The airbending master somehow narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow at the same time, and did a 'yip-yip' to be on his way.

At that moment, Bolin, Mako, and Asami approached, preparing to leave themselves.

"Hey girls, quite the night huh?" called Bolin. "We're pro-bending champions now!"

At that, I whispered to Korra standing next to me, "Told you that was the important part." That made her smile.

Bolin went on with his rambling personality: "And you, Anatha with your airbending, you were like—an awesome air-attacking air-bending airbender!" He had hearts for eyes again.

"Thank you Bolin," I answered. "But hey, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Amon without you and Korra watching my back."

Mako rubbed the back of his neck.

"Mako," I addressed him, "I'm sure you would've been a big help too. We all get knocked out sometimes. Bolin did in the first round."

"Right," he replied curtly. "And I'm... sorry for thinking you were just a fangirl."

"No worries. I didn't exactly advertise my airbender status." I wanted to tease him about how he had treated Korra the same way when he met her, but I refrained.

Korra asked the three of them, "What are you three going to do now?"

Mako answered: "We're staying the night back at the Arena, but then we're moving in with Asami. Her father gave us permission."

The mood was leaning toward ending the conversation, but I said quickly, "You three should do one more Fire Ferrets cheer. You never got to celebrate properly."

Bolin and Korra agreed instantly, while Mako sighed. He acquiesced, and so they made a cheer, "Fire Ferrets!"

After Asami, Bolin, and Mako left, with Asami driving them back to the arena, I turned back to Korra. I asked her, "So what now, Avatar?"

"I'm tired and I want to go to bed, and I want you to fly me there."

"Your wish is my command," I answered, and I let her ride me fish-piggy-back again. I launched us up into the air. Pausing above the skyline, I asked, "Does the Avatar have any suggestions on the route?"

"Can you take me as high as possible, and then drop me over the island?"

I laughed. "Sure. Do you want me to catch you?"

"Yes please."

That night, Korra hugged me tighter than ever before, and in the morning I couldn't get out of bed without waking her.

* * *

The following morning, Korra and I were summoned to a Republic City council meeting. They probably wanted to go over the issue of the Equalist movement with the ones who actually captured the leader of it.

The entire council thanked me; they even bestowed me some medal to commemorate my deeds. I would probably sell it later and donate the money.

The one point they asked me on, after reviewing my testimony from the previous night, was why I called Amon a bloodbender.

"If I understand my history correctly, only the Avatar had been able to remove people's bending." I threw a glance at Korra. "And as Amon isn't the Avatar, he must have found a different way of doing it. We already knew he was a skilled chi-blocker; perhaps some bloodbending technique could be done to do the same thing, but permanently? It was speculation." To an extent, it actually was. In removing others of their bending myself, I had only ever used energybending. Though I had sensed him to be a waterbender and had felt his bloodbending myself. "Moreover, when I fought him, I could feel him bloodbending me, though only subtly, to throw me off. It didn't work."

They accepted my explanation, and after ensuring them we would help with any issues with Equalist holdouts, we left in short order. Korra and I went to lunch, and then she started acting weird.

She said, "Hey, I was thinking of going to see Mako and Bolin at the Sato mansion today, to celebrate our victory from last night."

"Okay. Do you want us to go right after this, or...?"

"Actually, I don't want you to come with me."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Sorry, I guess I just... I've been feeling overwhelmed, and I want to keep you separate from them."

"Are you saying I can't be friends with them?"

Korra was becoming more and more stressed. "N-No, I just... I knew them before I knew you, and I want to have special 'Fire Ferrets' time..." Her words turned more into whispers as she went on.

"Hey Korra, it's okay." I smiled, trying to relax her. "You don't have to spend every waking moment with me. I have stuff I want to do too, like with this award here." I held the medallion around my neck.

"R-Right, thanks. I want to go now—I'll cover the soup next time, yeah?" She stood up, making ready to leave the restaurant, and she left without another word from me. I had seen in her eyes that whatever was bothering her was still not resolved.

I quickly paid for the lunch and made to invisibly follow her. There was no sense in speculating on what she was feeling without first gathering more information. Granted, I could just bend my way into her mind to figure it out, but she deserved better than that.

I followed her for the rest of her day: she relaxed with her friends at the Sato mansion. They had wanted to go to the race track, but Asami realized it was starting to be too late in the day for that; the tracks were closing soon. I wondered at what had gotten the four of them to click so well, and why Korra didn't want me there. My eavesdropping didn't reveal anything.

That night, Korra asked Asami if she could stay at the mansion as well; her request was accepted.

* * *

Over the following days it became clear that the Equalist issue had not been at all resolved. Protests, peaceful and otherwise, were still abound, and Equalist holdouts were still taking rash actions. At one point Amon had even been broken out of prison, but Team Avatar was always quick on the scene and re-secured him. I watched all of this without interfering.

It all came to a head when councilor Tarrlok, who had been growing increasingly more powerful, imprisoned Asami, Mako, and Bolin for interfering with police business.

After attempts to get them free through the legal protocols failed, Korra took rash action of her own. She confronted Tarrlok late the next evening, demanding their release. When compromise could not be found, Tarrlok attacked.

I did not intervene again, even as I watched Korra be captured. Though when Tarrlok revealed himself to be a bloodbender, I carefully monitored Korra's bloodbended body, ready to intervene should Tarrlok try to injure her further. He didn't.

When Tarrlok finally had her imprisoned in that metal box and left, I stayed behind with Korra, ever-watching. I did take a moment to bend my way into Tarrlok's mind, where I learned of his cruel heritage.

Now that Korra had pushed me away for some reason, I had resumed my role as passive observer rather than an actor in her life.

* * *

But eventually I became forced to act. I knew neither of us would be able to forgive me if I let her take it.

Tarrlok showed up ranting about how he was now exposed as bloodbender, but would be running away to start a new life, and would take Korra with him as a hostage.

Through air and sound, I felt lots of movement outside the building—something was about to go down. I knew not whether the approaching people were friend or foe.

To see who it was, I let my spirit leave my body, so my spirit could travel above ground and get a view of them. It was not a comfortable feeling, doing that, but it had to be done.

It was a small army of—walking machines? They were being loaded off trucks by whom I recognized as Equalists, due to their garb, and getting into one of them, I saw—Hiroshi Sato! There was more going on than I knew.

Bloodbender, crazy Equalist machines? I had to get Korra out of it.

I couldn't just take the bloodbender's bending away, because unlike how Amon's status as a bloodbender was still uncertain speculation to the outside world, his bending skills were now public knowledge. Just removing it would bring up too many unwanted questions.

I had to get Korra out by force, and also get her to see that Hiroshi was apparently working with the Equalists. I wasn't sure how many people would trust me if only I ended up testifying to it. Unlike me, Korra could get everyone on her side.

Tarrlok made to remove Korra from her cage, but I interrupted him with a full-on blast of of air. He crashed into the wall of the room, dazed, and I seized my advantage by forming a vacuum around his head, just as I did with Amon, to incapacitate him.

"Korra, it's me!" I called out when I got back to the cage and made myself visible, "Don't shoot fire in my face when I free you."

"Anatha!" She rushed forward through the door, hugging me. When we separated, she held hold of my arm. Much remained unsaid.

"Quick, Korra, listen! There's a band of Equalists outside with these big walking machines, and Hiroshi Sato is leading them."

"What?! He wouldn't! And where's Tarrlok? Be careful, he's a bloodbender!"

"I know. He's unconscious over there." I pointed. "And I'm just telling you what I saw. We have to get out of here!" I heard enemies getting closer to the house, staking out at the doors and windows. "Now!"

I grabbed hold of Korra around her waist and flew us up the basement's staircase. Continuously, I blew the house's roof apart with a precise strike of air, and Korra and I slipped through into the open sky.

"Look, Korra, it's the Equalists!" I gestured below us to the small army encircling the house. In one of the walking machines glaring up at us, was Hiroshi Sato.

"No..." Korra whimpered.

Electing to ignore our enemy for now, I flew up even higher, but then I noticed our other enemies.

Airships. Airships were moving on Republic City.

So, the Equalists were now making their move to take over the city. Did they already have insurgents making attacks in the city, or would this be the first wave? Probably the former.

I flew past the airships; they hadn't expected any enemy of theirs to fly like that, and so they offered no resistance to our travel.

"Korra, where should we go? With the Equalists moving in, few places will be safe." I thought for a moment. "In fact, the safest place for you would be in the air up here with me."

Instead of answering, Korra froze in my arms. Then she started crying. I squeezed her tighter, trying to soothe whatever was upsetting her.

"Korra, what's wrong?"

Between her whimpers and snivels, Korra struggled to respond. "Of c-course"—hic—"I'm crying!"—hic—"Such"—hic—"perfect timing!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, what has Korra so broken down?

**Author's Note:**

> Not my first fanfic, but my first on AOE3! My writing of this might be sporadic—for example, I have portions of 'Book 4' written even though I haven't finished 'Book 1'. Open to suggestions regarding plot directions. If anything doesn't make sense let me know.


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